Regrinding valve



I May 7, 1929 I l. B. GlLBER-r v 1,711,593

REGRINDING VALVE Filed ot. 21, 1926 1 1 5 4 mnf. 29M

Patented May 7, 19.29.

UNITED STATES einen? PATENT Fries.

isnann n. GILBERT, or, ornenvnarr, eine.

REGRINDING VALVE.

Application :Filed October 21, 192. y Serial No. 143,288.`

is to provide an improved valve having a valve seat to close the conduit in which it is mounted and a valve seat to cut oiany,

escape orlealrage ot ilui d through the steli]- ingr b x or along` the valve stem., and to enable the stniiing box to be repaclied Without rotting oile the llovv et lloid through the conduit or removing` the valve, and improved means to sell-grindthe,valve upon each ol2 its seats` Anotherobject isk to provide an improved valve structure comprising a valve adapted to seat atopposite faces upon separate valve seats and to automatically regrind itself into operative Contact with each of said valve seats. My invention also com' prises certain details oli form, and combination of components, all of which will be fully set 'lortli in the description of the ac-r companying drawings in which Fig. l is a central vertical section through a valve embodying my improvements.`

Fig. 2 is a perspective view ot one ot the automatic clutch or coupling` members detached. i v

Fig. 3 isa sectional detail showing theV operative members ot Fig. l in a diil'erent position.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiment ott my invention, in which l5 represents the main valve sli-ell or casing, to opposite ends' of which pipe sections are adapted to be connectedy by means of screw threads 16 and 17. The valvecasingis provided With a partition plate 18 through which is a valve port 19 encircled byka main valve seat 20. A bonnet 22 is threaded at 24 to the valve casing, and the lower annular edge of the bonnet is provided with an annular valve seat 2G to enable all communication between the valve chamber 28 and the chamber 30 ofthe bonnet to beY cut oli when the valve head 32 is applied to the valve seat 26. A valve stem 34 is threaded at 35 to the bonnet 22 so as toeed the valve stein endwise relative' to the bonnet when the valve stem is rotated. A o'land 3G which packing material is coniined and com-v pressed to prevent fluid leakage past the paclring'in the stuiling box 38, around or along' the valve stem to the exterior of the valve casing and bonnet.

The valve head 32 is provided Wit-h an annular valve tace 4l kto make Contact with the main valve seat 20 to close the port 19, and with an annular valve 'face 42 opposite the valve face 40 to maire close contact With the valve seat 26 to prevent the escape of any fluid into the bonnet or past the packing to the exterior et tliebonnet, yand particularly to eiiectually close oil and prevent the escape of i'luid :trom the valve chamber to the bonnet While the packing` is being removed from the stalling box 38 and renewed or replenished therein.

The valve head 32 is mounted relative to Y the valve seats 20 and 26 rand the inner end ot the valve stem 34 in the following` manner; the valve head 32 is provided With an annular screwthreaded liange 70 to Which is threaded a chamberedcap 44. The cap 44 is screwed firmly on the flange 70, and i'spreferably locked thereto by means of a setscrew key, Vor similar known means to prevent the cap 44 becoming nnscrewed from the flange 70. TNithin the cap 44 is a tubular sleeve or member 46`having a limited movement Within said cap endwise oi. the valve stem. 'lhe sleevev 4G has a shoulder 47 adapted to seat upon the end of the iiange 70 to limit its movement endvvise of the valve stem in one direction, and the opposite end of sleeve engaging the inner face of the cap 44- limits its movement in the opposite direction. The 'sleeve 46 isalso provided with a recess 48 between said sleeve and the valve stem. rllhe recess 48 serves as a housing for a spring 49, the upper end of Which springl seats against the inner ace oli the end of `thecap 44, and the lower end Ot the spring seats upon an annular shoulder 43 ot the sleeve to yieldingly press the sleeve away from the end of the cap and toward the valve head 32. The end of the sleeve 4G toward the valve head 32 is provided with a series oit cam'faces or teeth 58 vwhich are vadapted to yieldingly engage opposite ends of a pin 60,'vvhich iscarv ried rigidly by the valve stem with opposite enos ot said pin project-ing beyond the cylindrical 'face of the valve stem` into position to bel engaged by the teeth 58 oi; the sleeve 46. A section 72 of the valve head is in position .to be engaged by the end of the valve stem 34 to force the valve 32 rigidly and positively against its seat 20, and against pressure of a fluid tending to pass upwardly through the valve port 19 which is the preferable direction in which to face the valve in its conduit. A pin or set screw 62 carried by the cap 44 enters a slot or keyway 63 in the outerI face of the sleeve 4G to preventthe sleeve rotating relative to the cap 44 or valve head 32, but permitting the sleeve 4G to move endwise within the cap 1While the valvel head 32 is out of contact with its seats 2O and 26 the spring 49 forces the teeth 58 of the sleeve 4G yieldingly into engagement with the pin 6() so that the ends of the pin oecupytwo of the depressions between the teeth 58. rlheV shoulder 47 is also in Contact with the end of the flange 70 before the end of the stein 34 contacts with the valve face 72, and the sleeve and valve head rotate with the valve stein. Covering the period when the valve stem forces the valve face 4() into contact 'with the valve seat against an upward pressure from the fluid, the iirst contact of the valve head with the seat 20 tends by friction to prevent rotation of the valve upon its seat or with the valve stem7 while at the same time the cam teeth 58, due to"this frictional resistance tend to climb over the ends of the pin 60 as indicated in Fig. l, and this tendency for the teeth 58 to climb over the pin 60 is resisted by the spring 49, which in turn reacts to canse the valve face to move to a limited extent rotatably upon and in contact under moderate pressure with the valve seat 20, and thereby to automatically grind or regrind the valve faces and keep its faces 40 and 2O automatic illy clean, smooth, and free from dirt or foreign matter, and to prevent grooves or channels being worn in either of the faces 40 or 20, due to wire-drawing er frictional action of the fluid unt er pressure across said faces 40 and 20, when the valve is partly open. As the valve closes, the friction between the faces 40 and 20`increases progressively so that the rotation or grinding action of the valve faces occurs while the pressure between the faces 40 and 2O is of moderate degree, and ceases as soon as the pressure between the valve head and its seat becomes suiiicient to cause the spring' 49 to yield and the teeth 58 to climb over the pin 60 in preference to propelling the valve head rotatively upon its seat. By this arrangement l am enabled to grind the faces 40 and 20 under conditions adapted to attain perfect results, that is positive downward pressure or feed of the valve stein against the valve head to close the valve against an upwardly or opposite fluid pressure, and a rotary or grinding action between the faces of the valve head and valve seat while held vpositively in contactas distinguished from yeldingly or resiliently in Contact.

When the valve head isretracted from its seat, a grinding action in a reverse direc tion and under like conditions occurs between the faces 40 and 20 just'prior to the lifting of the face 40 away from the face 20; "Frein time to time one or more of the teeth 58 climb and slip past the pin 60, which results in the valve changing its position rctat-ively relative to its seat 20 and the stem 34, so that the grinding action is evenly distributed about the circumference of the valve faces, and the contact faces are kept true and no high places or irregularities are allowed to develop therein.

rlhe operation is as follows; when the valve stem is rotated to feed the stein toward the portl), the valve head 32 feeds with th-e stem, being clutched yieldingly thereto by the pin 6() engaging the teeth 58, and held yieldingly in engagement by the spring 49. As soon as the valve face 40 engages the. valve seat 20, friction between the faces 40 and 2O tends to prevent rotation of the valve head upon the seat 20, and results from engagement of the end of the valve stem with the section 72 of the valve head 32 to develop a positive pressure between the faces 40 and 20, to hold said faces unyieldingly in contact and withprogressively increasing pressure as the valve stem is progressively rotated to lock the valve head to its seat. The frictional Contact between the faces 40 and 20 causes the spring 49 to yield to intermittently unclutch the valve head 32 from the valve stem at the teeth 58 and pin 60, but not until after the teeth 58 and pin 60 have acted to rotate the face 40 to a limited extent under moderate positive pressure relative to the face 20, to thereby clean and Vtrue the surfaces 40 and 20 at each operation of the valve, and alternately in reverse directions.

At the extreme movement of the valve head 32 away from its seat 20, the valve face 42 makes contact with the valve seat 26 to cut off communication between the valve chamber 28 and the bonnet chamber 30, and the pin being held by the spring 49 in engagement with the teeth 58, the spring 49 is compressed to a greater or less extent after the valve seats 42 and 26 engage, while the valve head 32 continues to rotate with the valve stem under moderate pressure of the valve upon its seat, to thereby self grind the valve faces 42 and 26, substantially as heretofore described. Ultimately the upper end of the sleeve 46 will positively i engage the inner face of the cap 44 to positively clamp the valve head against the valve seat 2G substantially as indicated in Fig. 3. llVhere a relatively light spring 49 is employed, the teeth 58 may be made to climb the pin 60 due `to frictional engag ment between the valve faces l2 and 26, before the end of the sleeve 4G engages the inner face of the end of cap 44e. Upon releasing the valve head 32 from its seat 26 a grinding action in a reverse direction is had under moderate pressure until the valve' head is free Vfrom the seat 2G.

The valve is thus located in the valve chamber intermediate oftwo valve seats, and is operable from the exterior by a single valve stem and simple and reliable means to seat the valve head firmly upon either valve seat, and to have an automatic grinding` action under conditionsoit pressure of the valve upon its seat, also a grinding ac tion in opposite directions upon each seat. The valve is thus adapted for use over' long periods of continuous service, and where a shut-down of the apparatus for repairs to the valve would be diiiicult or objectionable, and to continuously maintain both valve seats and valve faces' inpertect operative condition, and to insure the stuihng box being repacked whenever required without injuring the operator or removing the valve or interrupting the use of the valve` The valve is also adapted to be used as a 'twoway valve, which may be attained/for instance by connecting a second oil-take pipe or blow-oll cock in place of the plug 74.

The apparatus herein shown and described is capable of considerable modiication within the scope oit the claims, Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A regrindingvalve comprising a valve casing having two opposed valve seats, a valve member mdvable to selectively cover' and uncover said respective valve seats to open andy close vindependent passages, a valve stem operable to adjust said valve member to and from said respective valve seats, said valve member being rotatably mounted relative to said valve stem, a clutch member to normally rotatesaid valve member from said valve stem land means operable through pressure oitl said valve member upon one ot said valve seats to yield and allow relative motion between said clutch member and valve stem and enable said valve vstem to rotate independently of said valve member.

2. A regrinding valve comprising a valve casing having two opposed valve seats, a valve member movable to selectively cover and uncover said respective valve seats to open and close independent passages, a valve stem operable to adjust said valve member to and from said respective valve seats, a driving member carried by said valve stem to interlock withand rotate said valve member, and means to yieldingly hold said driving member and valve member normally interloclied, said yielding means yielding automaticallyv to release said interlocking connection when Ythe frictional engagement between the valve member and one of said valve seats approaches a maximum. l n

3. A regrinding'valve comprising a valve casing having two opposed valve seats, a valve member movable to selectively cover anduncover said respective valve seats to Y open and close independent passages, a valve lstem operable to adjust said valve member to and trom said respective valve seats,A

said valve member being rotatably mounted relative to said valve stem, and clutch means to yieldin ly release said Avalve member in either direction from driving relation with saidvalve stem when the frictional engagement of said valve member with either olI said valve seats approaches a maximum.

`4. A valve comprising a valve Vcasing having two opposedvalve seats, a valve me1nber movable to selectively cover and uncover said respective valve seats to open and close independent passages, means lto adjust said valve member to and from said respective valve seats and to rotate said valve member with one of its valve faces in con! tact with one ofvsaid valve seats from the exterior of said'valve casing and means to yieldingly release said valve member in either direction from its rotary driving relation when the frictional engagement of said valve vwith either of said valve seats appreaches a maximum.

5. A regrinding valve comprising a valve casing having two opposedk valve seats, a valve member' movable to selectively cover and uncoversaid respective valve seats to open and close independent passages, a valve stem operablek to adjust said valve member to and from said respective valve seats, said valve member being rotatably mounted relative to said valve stem, adriving mem ber interposed between said valve member and said valve stem to normally rotate said valvemember in either direction from said valve stem, and automatically actuated mechanism to release said valve member from driving` relation with said valve stem when the frictional engagement of saidvalve member with either ot said valve seats approaches a maximum, and to automatically ire-engage said valve member in driving relation with said valve stem when the rictional engagement of said valve member with either of said valve seats is decreased.

6. A regrinding valve comprising a valve casing having-two opposed valve seats, a valve member movable to selectively cover and uncover said'respective valve seats to open and close independent passages, means to adjust said valve member to and from said respective valve seats and to rotate said valve member in frictional contact with either oit said valve seats when said valve member is being applied to and removed from said valve seats from the exterior of the valve casing, and means to automatically yield and allow relative motion in either direction between said valve stem and said valve when the closing tension on said valve member approaches a maximum.

7. A regrinding valve comprising a valve casing having two opposed valve seats, a valve member movable to selectively oever and uncover said respective valve seats to open and close independent passages, a

Vvalve stem operable to adjust said valve member to and from said respective valveV seats, means interposed between said valve member and valve stem to initially apply said valve member to either of said valve seats with a yielding tension, and a driving member Vmounted upon and rotatable with said valve stem7 and yieldingly held in driving relation with said valve member to rotate said valve member in frictional Contact with either of said valve seats when said valve member is being applied to and removed from said valve .seats7 and to automatically yield and allow relative movement between said valve stem and said valve member when the closing tension on said valve member approaches a maximum.

.8.21 self grinding valve comprising a valve casing having a valve seat, a valve stem operable from the exterior o the casing and movable endwise relative to the casing, a clutch member' carried rigidly relative to the innerV end of the valve stem, a valve adapted to engageV said valve seat to close said valve port, said valve being provided with a clutch member held yieldingly in engagement with the clutch member on said valve stem, and said valve stem being adapted to positively Jforce said valve against a Huid pressure into contact with said valve seat. Y

9. The combination of a valve head and a valve stem adapted to normally rotate together, and means operable through the rictional engagement oi the valve head with al valve seat to cause the head and stem to rotate independently.

In testimony whereof I have allixed my signature.

ISRAEL B. GILBERT. 

